In Italy, 30,327,388 people paid at least one euro of personal income tax (IRPEF) last year: this is the lowest number since 2008. 13 per cent of taxpayers, those with from 35,000 euros gross and up, he pays 60 percent of the Italian income tax, therefore everyone’s welfare. Only 1.2 percent of taxpayers declare that they earn more than one hundred thousand euros gross per year.
These are the data of a report presented a few days ago by CIDA and Social Security Itineraries. Which underline what the speakers defined as an “unacceptable paradox”: on the one hand salaries in Italy are not growing, on the other there are fewer and fewer male and female workers who bear the brunt of the tax burden.
And the fact that only 13 percent of taxpayers earn more than 35,000 euros a year can mean two things, said Stefano Cuzzilla, the president of CIDA: “Either we are sliding towards a general impoverishment not suited to an industrial power or there is a huge undeclared population in this country. In fact, we are continuing to favor tax evaders.”
As an article published in this issue tells us, there are billionaires in the United States who define themselves as “effective altruists”: they claim the right to earn colossal sums in order to be able to donate them to organizations that they think are most useful for humanity.
In reality, if they wanted to make a truly altruistic gesture, it would be enough for them to pay more taxes. Perhaps according to the principle indicated, as always with great clarity, by the Italian constitution: “Everyone is required to contribute to public expenses on the basis of their ability to pay”. But perhaps in Italy this would be more revolutionary than an altruistic gesture. ◆